Bartender Charged With Manslaughter After Serving 56 Shots To One Customer

There are two trains of thought that go into the job of being a bartender. Some people argue that the server of our drinks is not responsible for how much alcohol we consume. After all, if you were in your own home there would be nobody to stop you from downing a bottle of vodka. The other school of thought is that the bartender has an active duty to stop unruly and overly drunk barflies when their alcohol consumption becomes out of control.

In France, a bartender has been deemed responsible for the death of a patron who entered his establishment and later died from excessive alcohol intake.

The customer, a 57-year-old man identified as Renaud, plowed back a mixture of 56 shots and shooters at Le Starter in an attempt to break a record set by a previous patron.

The customer only found out about the record because it was written on a blackboard inside of the pub. The board displayed the previous record holders name and the 55 shot total he had consumed.

According to witnesses, Renaud, had already consumed 14 shots prior to starting the challenge. He then proceeded to drink 30 shooters in just one minute.

Renaud continued to drink and by the end of the day he consumed more than a full liter of alcohol.

The man may have stopped, but the victim’s daughter says the bartender whispered to him… “12 more to go.”

Renaud’s daughter carried him home, where he fell into cardiac arrest and died the next day.

The prosecuting lawyer, Antoine Portal, said,

It is not known whether he would still be alive if he had not drunk the last 12 shots, but by making down those last shots, he was left with no chance. It was a case of inciting someone to consume. That’s an extremely serious mistake for a bar owner.

The bar’s owner has defended his establishments practice. Falling into the first school of thought he declared, “the customers are responsible for themselves.”

No further details about the upcoming case have been revealed at this time.